Bought a Xantia off Ebay.....

BrianA · Post by **BrianA** » 10 Jul 2007, 18:14

I picked up a Xantia that I bought off Ebay yesterday.
Its a 1.9 TD SX.
Here's the description.

You are bidding on my Citroen this has been used for a Couple of months as a Weekend Private Hire Vehicle.I have also used as Daily transport to the local College as i am studying to be a plumber.

I have recently passed my exams and now need a van this car has been serviced by myself every 5000 miles which consisted of

New oil

New filters

New belts

This has hed new suspension spheres all round the inside is in Good condition with Leather Interior

There is NO RUST anywhere on the vehcle atall.

Happy Bidding Cash on collection ONLY Please.

Grab yourself a bargain Starting at £199.

Advertised elsewhere so i reserve the right to withdraw if the car sells .

Due to the amount of questions about the car here are some more details:-

The car has not failed an MOT she hasent been for one not had time and i am not likly to, too busy, she has been stud on my path for 3 weeks. I now have a van, other details are as follows,

The rear suspension spheres were renewed 23/10/2006

The front suspension spheres were renewed 12/02/2007

The clutch and cable were renewed 3/11/2006 as was the gearbox oil

The timing belt was renewed at 114,000 miles so is due again in17,000 miles

The oil and filter were changed 2700miles ago

The diesel filter was changed 1200 miles ago

All the other perishables are replaced as and when they are needed i.e. brakes are fine, discs are fine, abs working fine, all lights on the dash come on when they need to, and go off when they need to, all exterior lighting works fine and i will even throw in some spare bulbs.

The glow plugs are getting a bit nackered and could do with changing, but thats a job for the next owner

I paid £400 on the strength of this description.

Just take a look at the rear spheres are they prone to this type of decay over 9 months?.

The front accumulator is constantly ticking and the rear end won't go up to max height.
I can't find a date on the front spheres too give me and idea of just how new they are as they look new like most front ones do.

There is LHM in the front passenger footwell also.

Now I know I can get all this done but what I'm asking is is do I have a case for complaint against this guy?

Please don't call me names I'm sensitive you know.

Here's the pictures of the spheres.

9 months old??

Sorry about the size of the last one,it's tea time!!!
9 months old??

Here's the car itself.

Any advice will be grateful.

Cheers Bri.

Stewart(oily) · Post by **Stewart(oily)** » 10 Jul 2007, 19:08

Lubricate the rear linkages to the HC as described on this board, those spheres look like they have been there for a while, is the rear end supple? I think the car has been mis-described, look at the cambelt, if the smooth side looks "polished" then that has probably been on there a while too, the car looks like £400 otherwise though, if it drives and the A/C works.
Stewart

lolingram · Post by **lolingram** » 10 Jul 2007, 19:34

Was the car correctly described?

Clearly not the case, but would a student plumber necessarily know if the rear spheres had been changed? My FIRST check on eBay stuff is to look at the 'service history' of the seller... and who trusts a white van plumber?

In the end, it is probably worth the £400

I paid £400 on the strength of this description.

Just take a look at the rear spheres are they prone to this type of decay over 9 months?.

mezuk04a · Post by **mezuk04a** » 10 Jul 2007, 19:37

The front end looks fine but that rear looks rather old especially the sphere that looks grey.

You may still of got a good deal at £400, especially if the A/C works....the LHM leak is an easy fix from what I can remember off here.

nick · Post by **nick** » 10 Jul 2007, 19:37

To be honest I have known rear spheres look as rusty as that after only a year or so. The paint quality on some of them is rubbish, after 2 years of use the Amtex back spheres on my last Xantia looked like something recovered from the Titanic !

lolingram · Post by **lolingram** » 10 Jul 2007, 19:52

Check the belts... if they are OK, then the rest might just have a ring of truth.....

If the ex-owner says they need changing in 17k, what mileage is now on the clock? If they have already done around 30k, they won't look anywhere near new will they?

I paid £400 on the strength of this description.

Just take a look at the rear spheres are they prone to this type of decay over 9 months?.

mezuk04a · Post by **mezuk04a** » 10 Jul 2007, 20:19

I dont think you have done to bad for £400 if thats all thats wrong with it as you mention.

BrianA · Post by **BrianA** » 10 Jul 2007, 20:39

Thanks for the replies you lot I feel a lot better now.

The car drives and pulls really well,the leather seats are quite good and the air con does work as do all the other electrical bits and pieces.

I still feel as though hardly any of the description is true though.

Cheers.
Bri.

mpr1956 · Post by **mpr1956** » 10 Jul 2007, 20:57

Hi Bri... I think you may have got away with it this time !! I got my 93 tdsx off of Ebay.. it looked and drove quite well, 9 months later after a head gasket, rear swing arm bearings, front left and right lower arms and a few other bits and pieces I have quite a good car for the year, but I definitely paid too much. Yours looks pretty tidy all round, and the leather is desirable too. As for the spheres, they could have been regassed I suppose.. which would account for the apparent age. If the clutch has been done in 2006 that is a definite plus, so all in all not a bad result !! Best wishes, Martin

AndersDK · Post by **AndersDK** » 10 Jul 2007, 21:02

To me the rear sphere area looks completely normal for a 9month period.

Mind you they are exposed to the road environment, everytime the car is taken for a drive. It makes no sense comparing it to the wellprotected front spheres locations. The green paint is only a thin layer to protect the sphere against stain during stock periods.

I donno about any garage that would bother doing even a simple quick spray of rustprotector after a sphere change ...
Honestly - how many DIY'ers here remembers to do that ?

Otherwise the car looks great.
Cant comment on the UK pricetag.

andmcit · Post by **andmcit** » 10 Jul 2007, 21:12

The only direct fib is the 'no rust anywhere on the vehicle at all' bit!!

If the car rides Ok, DOES IT MATTER HOW RUSTY THE EXTERIOR OF
THE SPHERES ARE!! They could be genuine and I'd be more wary about
the high levels of apparent corrosion in the whole underside area pictured
- where does the car come from - they do get a bit carried away with
grit/salt to clear snow/ice off the roads in the north east!!?

I'd say the rear subframe and it's mounting points WILL rust, so it'd be
worth slapping some protection on the underside where it's parked up
in the air on those ramps!

Andrew

andmcit · Post by **andmcit** » 10 Jul 2007, 21:24

Is the radio code 7806? Folk wont do this if the car is a runaround
throwaway hack?!?

Anyway - what else are you going to spend £400 on!?

Andrew

deian · Post by **deian** » 10 Jul 2007, 22:49

For £400, I would say the price was spot on what it should be for the mileage and condition.
Not sure about the rear spheres, a bit too much rust on them for my liking. But you can't complain for that price really.

KP · Post by KP » 11 Jul 2007, 07:44

I was keeping my eye on that one too but £400 got a bit rich for me as i was only interested due to having leather, ac and alloys as the rest is servicable stuff thats not to pricey other than the clutch.

Not too bad methinks but as said the rust bit was misleading.

Generally if you fit rear spheres you should give them a coat or two of lacquer to help them live a little longer

Post by **RichardW** » 11 Jul 2007, 07:44

LHM in the passenger footwell........? hmmm, no LHM round that area unless it has been carried in the foot well and fallen over.

I'm thinking it's coolant....which might not make your £400 seem so attractive....